D23 – Synopsis, details and first officail poster for Star Wars: Starfighter are here

August 15th, 2026 by Marc Comments

While we got the great trailer for Ahsoka season 2 at Disney’s D23 2026 Expo last night, the teaser for the highly anticipated Star Wars: Starfighter was kept for people attending the event only (yes, it’s online if you look for it).

However, we did learn a few new details about the movie.

Hitting cinemas on May 28th next year, the movie opens 50 years to the day that the first Star Wars movie opened in 1977 (this probably explains the original Star Wars logo being used in the Starfighter poster above) and director Shawn Levy had this to say: “I am so honored to release this film on the same weekend that the original film opened 50 years earlier.


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“Starfighter embodies the themes of hope, family and adventure that have always been core to Star Wars, but our story takes place in a period of time that has never been seen before which has been a privilege to create and explore.”

The movie stars Ryan Gosling as Auberon, a pilot who owns, according to the trailer, “a decommissioned Imperial G17… the fastest starfighter ever built.” On the movie’s adventure, Kade is joined by a young counterpart played by Flynn Gray – his name in the movie has not been revealed yet.

In the trailer, and on stage at D23, Kade/Gosling wore a jacket with a design on the back that features an upside-down Rebel symbol, although what this means, we have yet to learn. “Kade is a guy from the wrong side of the galaxy, whose fate is intertwined with the fastest starfighter ever built,” Gosling said on the stage.


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“This Star Wars story is firmly rooted in character,  brought to life by these amazing actors,” Levy said, “and all within an adventure that’s filled with humor, danger, spectacle and the joyous spirit that has been the beating heart of this 50-year legacy that we all love so much.”

On top of this, we have the movie’s official synopsis:

When a cynical rogue is confronted by his mysterious past, he is hurled into a dangerous adventure across the galaxy that puts him on a crash course with destiny.

Also, despite rumours of hopes for a sequel and/or spinoffs to this new Star Wars tale, the official site calls it ‘an all-new standalone adventure’. Make of that what you will.

Star Wars: Starfighter also stars Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, Simon Bird, Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings, and Amy Adams.

Star Wars: Starfighter will be released theatrically May 28th, 2027.


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Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….